Hudson Valley

Route description

Leave New York City northward on the west side of the Hudson, following US-9W past the Palisades and over the hills of Bear Mountain. At New Windsor, the Storm King Art Center spreads giant sculptures across 500 acres of fields and wooded hills. Allow several hours, and book tickets ahead on busy weekends.

Cross the Newburgh–Beacon Bridge to Beacon, a former factory town whose main street is now full of galleries and cafés. Dia Beacon exhibits large works of contemporary art in a former printing plant by the river. From Beacon, US-9 runs north along the east bank of the Hudson.

At Hyde Park, you can visit Franklin D. Roosevelt’s home and presidential library, Eleanor Roosevelt’s Val-Kill cottage and the Vanderbilt Mansion above the river. Continue north through Rhinebeck and Hudson to Albany, the state capital, with its ornate State Capitol and the modernist Empire State Plaza.

The Hudson Valley is at its best in October, when the fall color draws crowds on weekends. Several parkways in the region, including the Taconic, are closed to commercial vehicles and have low bridges, so check your route in a large motorhome. A toll is charged on the Newburgh–Beacon Bridge in the eastbound direction.